Well said. ...

How is figuring out how we got here supposed to change illiteracy, homelessness, hunger, crime, etc?

make me :P

This is just my opinion. Geez, you degreed people sure can be hard to get along with sometimes. I haven't accomplished any great deeds in my life. I am just a guy. I was trying to share my opinion. That's all. I have no special powers of judgement. Just my perspective from my limited knowledge. I apologize for wandering into a forum that required a pedigree and some form of institutionalized thinking structure to participate. I find it ironic that you accuse me of lack of imagination when you are doing nothing more than spouting things that others have told you. You have to realize that my comments are specific to my perspective. I am not trying to change anyone's mind, just trying to share ideas.

Just because you do know more that I do doesn't necessarily make you right either. You are welcome to your opinion, of course. I apologize for not having spent 8-12yrs in a university, but I do read quite a bit on my own and I am not convinced that there is a concrete trial of evidence between humans and apes. Yes. Anything outside of direct observation, not matter what evidence exists, has to be believed with a degree of faith as there is no was to prove your position with 100% accuracy.

My apologies. I forgot that AC's are actually the equivalent of perfect beings, with 100% logically laid out opinions and emotional responses.

I am not spreading anything. Just stating my opinion....If that scares you, stop reading...

Never implied that it was. I was merely stating my opinion.

I agree that evolution is a fact of life. However, there is no concrete evidence showing that man evolved from apes or a shrew like creature. anyone who believes that humans are direct descendants of apes are using faith as a tool as much as one who believes in religion X.

Because, based on the human race's history, that knowledge is going to be abused in ways that I haven't even imagined as of yet. I honestly don't think we can ever know the exact mechanism of how we came to be because we do not know the conditions under which life began. And have no way of ever knowing it. I'll be the first to admit that I could be wrong about the impact this knowledge will have on humanity if it is ever definitively proven, but from my perspective at this moment, I just don't see it.

Well, if /. wasn't here, I would probably be back in the electrical department testing electronics. But since it does exist, I'm not. Do all of you honestly believe that once we find out the exact mechanism that creates life that it will suddenly change everything? I will still have to eat, drink, poop, etc. I live near a rather large metropolitan area. Social things pass me by all the time. It isn't going to change the fact that I have to have a job, or that I need to put gas in my car, or need to sleep this evening. If a whole bunch of believers are affected by this knowledge, that is their issue. Not mine. Fads come and go. And yet, everything remains the same. There will still be illiteracy, poor people, homeless people, hungry people, people @ war, crime, whatever. This knowledge will not change the face and the actions of humanity as a whole.

Hey, if you want to waste precious resources investigating something that will have absolutely no impact on humanity, then go ahead. I was just stating my opinion. I don't look down on anyone because they do. I just think it is pointless.

Well, if I actually found someone who really mattered, I would seriously consider it....

Refuting any current belief system still really changes nothing. Sure, it will have some social impact, but nothing that will change my life. Biological/medical science already can result in better health for everyone, without knowing the details of origin.